Story:Star Trek: Conflict/Anathema
The crew, stranded on the , try to retake the ''Enterprise''-C, while another, more advanced one is brought in to destroy them. Summary Chapter One Lianna Young is impressed by Bat-Levi's actions in rescuing them, but orders her - in a playful yet stern manner - to return command of the ''Admonitor'' to her captain. Bat-Levi complies, and Young says to a nervous Shield that she'll get the ''Enterprise'' back, before activating a cloaking device that conceals the from all eyes. Meanwhile, in Sick Bay, Edward Shield, with the help of the new EMH, is assessing the damage done to their crew. Loghri, because he shielded them with his own body, took the most damage. However, his Reuian physiology is designed for survival, so none of his wounds are serious. Rookwood was trampled several times, and Nox, knowing that the only doctor they can count on is Alaxim Boreas, who, for all they know, is currently a hostage on the ''Enterprise''-C, confides to Shield the secret. He tells the EMH to focus on her while he continues examining the others. They have mostly light injuries - bruises and lacerations - except for Zhang, who received very serious damage to her lower extremities. Edward Shield tells Young about this, and wonders how the FNN could have gotten their personal information to the public (since he feels that she was attacked specifically in that area because she was Young's lover). she suspects that Halliwell is responsible, since he was snooping around the just before she went to the meeting. She promises to make him pay. Meanwhile, Shield returns to the Bridge to think. His mind is in chaos, because the "voice" is reminding him of his faults and he himself can't think of a new course of action to take. Just then, an intruder alert alarm is sounded. Chapter Two It is from Nox, in one of the cargo bays, who has found a group of "vagrants": an Ithenite, a Caitian, a Dosi, a human and several others of mixed xeno-ancestry. Nox requests that they be confined to the Brig, but the human says they can't leave the cargo bay, since "it" will die without them (motioning to the crate behind him). Shield says that since they were found on Young's ship, it falls to her to make a decision. He returns to the Bridge, to find Lianna Young and Darya Bat-Levi there. They were talking about how they might best retake the ''Enterprise''. Shield suggests boarding the ship through a shuttle-pod landing in the docking bay, but Bat-Levi and Young both agree that they should open-fire on the ship, draining its shields before they beam a crew directly on to the Bridge. Shield has no objections, so they decide to carry this out. Young goes to Sick Bay to see to Zhang, while Bat-Levi and Shield remain on the Bridge. He congratulates her on cheating death, which she says she has no idea how it happened. He says that, now that she's back, he can give her command of the ''Enterprise'', since he was an acting captain during a state of emergency when all the senior officers had disappeared: therefore, according to that reasoning, since he was a mere ensign and she was second officer, he thinks she should be given command of the Enterprise. She does not disapprove, since this is according to Starfleet regulation, and she does not yet know of what has happened. She agrees to take command of the Enterprise when it is returned to their control. Chapter Three Meanwhile, Lianna Young has entered the cargo hold at the behest of Nox to meet the "vagrants". She is extremely offended that they were able to evade notice for one-and-a-half years and blames her "maggot" crew for letting them live without her permission. She suggests that they be beamed into space for stowing on her ship. But Dauk-Dauk, the Ithenite, tries to reason with the captain, saying that they could be very useful to her and her crew. He says that he is a skilled engineer and cook, and Young replies that they already have one and don't need the other. He says that Diamondhead could be a useful Security Officer, but Young says that Tholians are known for their xenophobia and it therefore wouldn't fit in, plus, because it is Tholian, it would require special accommodations, which would make him an extremely vulnerable security officer. Finally they come to Izg'raja, whom Dauk says will make a fine ops officer. Young says that the post is closed since, due to special modifications on her ship, all ship functions can be monitored and controlled with the press of a button from the captain's chair. She says that, since he hasn't convinced them of their usefulness, they will be beamed off-ship at the first planet they approach. When Young leaves, Dauk-Dauk appeals to Nox, asking if they could stay. The Romulan, who is very racist against non-Romulans and still pining about the destruction of his homeworld, tells them that they can die for all he cares and starts to leave. As he does, the Tholian stops him, saying that they were on Typhon III together. Nox says that it must be mistaken since there were no Tholians on Typhon III and, since that was seventy-one years ago, it is doubtful that anyone could ever have remembered him. Ar'jykke continues to plead with him, until he breaks down into violent muscle spasms and collapses. Since there is no CMO and the new EMH isn't equipped with a mobile emitter, Dauk and Izg'raja beg Nox to help him. Nox says that he doesn't know how, since removing him from his environmental suit (which he was in, since he left his crate to be present for Captain Young) would kill him. He calls back the captain to assist him, which she does grudgingly. Meanwhile, relieved and yet somewhat depressed, Edward Shield is in the Senior Officer's Lounge with K'hallA. He reveals to her Young's plan for taking back the ''Enterprise''-C and says that, when they do get it back, Bat-Levi will take command rather than himself. K'hallA is not pleased, and says so in no uncertain terms. Furthermore, she asks him if he will do something or play the coward and let his friends die. She says that, according to Lianna Young's plan, they will have to decloak before firing on the ''Enterprise''-C, which will leave them vulnerable to attack. Furthermore, she says that even if they don't decloak, the energy signatures from their weapons will be detected and they'll still be destroyed. He asks how this will be, and she says that she's been secretly monitoring outgoing subspace signals, and she detected a transmission sent to the ''Enterprise''-E to come and help them find and destroy the ''Admonitor''. Chapter Four Lianna Young is angry that she has to "baby-sit a bunch of vagrants" while she's trying to plan a successful retaking of the ''Enterprise''-C. She tells them that, from her tricorder scans, Ar'jykke is suffering from muscle spams due to genetic break-down, which they won't be able to help without a doctor. The EMH is assigned to work on a cure while she returns to planning her assault. While in Sick Bay, Nox begins asking Ar'jykke questions. The Tholian says that he was placed in the research labs on Typhon III, where Federation scientists were attempting to splice his DNA with those of the other slaves in order to create mindless super-soldiers. Nox doesn't believe this testimony, since he knew - from personal experience - that there were no research labs on or above Typhon III, and that none of the slaves would ever mysteriously disappear (there was no mystery behind slaves that didn't show up for their mining labors: they were dead). But Ar'jykke maintains this alibi, claiming that its all he can remember of his past-life, therefore he knows it must be true. The EMH states that the reason Ar'jykke has been experiencing muscle spasms is not because of genetic break-down, but because of the presence of nanites that have begun emitting a high-frequency tachyon pulse, which pulse has disrupted the motor neurons in his muscles but also scrambled the tricorder readings, creating the illusion of genetic break-down. Upon further examination, the EMH states that the nanites are equipped with enough dormant anti-protons to create a sizable rift in space should they explode. Ar'jykke states that this might be some last resort should he have escaped, which Nox finds doubtful, since, if he really was from 2344, the Federation would have done so years ago and thus destroyed the Admonitor long ere this. But before he can ask more, Nox is summoned to the Away Team by Lianna Young: the time has come to take back the . According to her plan, she will give Edward Shield temporary command of the ''Admonitor'', during which he will fire upon the ''Enterprise''-C and beam them on at the same time. Then they will take back the ship. However, Shield arrives with K'hallA's information and tells them that a beam-in would be suicide to both the away team and the ''Admonitor''. She at first doesn't believe, but when the ship detects the ''Enterprise''-E enter the system, she changes her mind and decides to use the shuttle-pod landing. Though it carries the same risk, this has a slightly greater chance of survival. The will, while cloaked, come right alongside the ''Enterprise''-C's docking bay, send out the shuttle-pods, which, since they are large enough to penetrate the shields, land in the docking bay (forced open by a hacking sequence carried out by Loghri) and unload the Away Team. This is the new plan. The Away Team consists of Darya Bat-Levi, Lianna Young, Loghri'nah, Willhelm Werner, Katie and Nox (since Rookwood is still in recovery, she remains in the Sick Bay of the , sharing with Ar'jykke the attention of the EMH). Just before the team leaves, Young calls Shield and K'hallA to join the team, saying that Zhang, who has recovered some, will command the ship from the helm until she returns. All goes well and the team lands in the hangar bay without being spotted. They then make their way to Deck 1, where Halliwell controls the ship with his all-female MACO squad. But a group of Starfleet security were also assigned to Halliwell's command, and they've discovered the assault team. A fire-fight breaks out as the security team of one hundred defends Decks 1 through 7. With Nox leading the assault, Decks 7 and part of 6 are cleared out of security, but the upper decks become more entrenched, sealing off the assault team. Suddenly, all the security on Decks 5 through 2 pass out. From one of the Jeffries' tubes comes Dauk-Dauk, who says that he flooded Decks 2 through 5 with a tranquilizing agent which neutralized all the guards. Young asks why he followed them, and Dauk tells them about the seriousness of Ar'jykke's situation. Young chides Nox for not ejecting the Tholian into space, saying that he's jeopardized the entire mission and the lives of those onboard the . Frustrated, she orders him to go back and kill the Tholian while she continues her mission - ordering him to take the Ithenite with him. Meanwhile, the Away Team, via the Jeffries tubes, have reached the Bridge. Halliwell, unwilling to accept defeat, takes out his phaser and threatens to shoot out the Bridge hull if they don't put their weapons down. They do so, and he has his MACOs secure them. Flaunting his supposed victory, he says that he will make Lianna Young pay for resisting him - and he promises to make it long and painful. Shield says he cannot believe that, after saving him from his STD that he'd thanklessly betray them. Halliwell says that he practically owns the Federation and every woman in it, and therefore no one has any authority over him. But as he rambles about his greatness, he is attacked once again by his STD, which has flared up again. He passes out, and his MACOs see to him. With their attention distracted, the Away Team takes back their weapons and hold them at phaser-point, ordering them to beam off the ship. At last the ''Enterprise''-C is back in the hands of the New Insurrectionists. The command crew returns to their stations, but Bat-Levi asks Edward Shield to take the Bridge rather than herself, since it was his plan that saved them from destruction. Despite his personal misgivings, he accepts and Young and her part of the Away Team return to the . Just then, the ''Enterprise''-E warps into position, beaming away Halliwell and his MACO squad and charging weapons to open-fire on the two ships. Chapter Five On the , Nox has returned to Sick Bay, where the EMH is unable to stabilize Ar'jykke's condition. Nox says that they should see if Dr. Boreas, now freed on the Enterprise-C, could help them. When they reach the Enterprise-C's Sick Bay, they find that Alaxim Boreas was never taken hostage, but barricaded Sick Bay from attack. He agrees to help Ar'jykke and begins examining his condition. After a few moments, he suggests a simulated aneurysm, which should sever the bio-mechanic link to the anti-proton-ridden-nanites. He begins the procedure, but claims that he wishes that he had some kind of assistance of any kind. Meanwhile, the ''Enterprise''-E begins its attack on the two ships. The E is much more advanced than the C, even equipped with a Corbomite reactor, which absorbs and reflects all fire from the ''Enterprise''-C back into itself. The , meanwhile, is back into Young's control and she leads it into the battle. The S'srelli Quantum phasers and torpedoes remarkably bypass the Corbomite field and deal considerable damage to the ''Enterprise''-E. With the holding off the ''Enterprise''-E, the C moves into position over the Admonitor, preparing to connect for a warp-pooling maneuver. With just moments to spare, they escape. Meanwhile, Admiral Picard asks Halliwell why "Plan B" didn't work. Halliwell has nothing to say, but begs to be cured of his illness, after which Picard send Halliwell to Sick Bay, wondering what they will tell Nechayev about this failure. Meanwhile, Lianna Young learns that Nox has not disposed with Ar'jykke. She prepares to do it herself, but Dauk says that were it not for Nox's unusual mercy, the would be destroyed: plus, were it not for his assistance, their attack on the Enterprise-C would have failed. She doesn't want to admit that he is right or offer him compensation (which she is more than certain he is seeking), and tells him to tell his "vagrant" friends that, because they saved the ship, they are condemned to stay on the , under Nox's charge. The Romulan is annoyed, but keeps his mouth closed. He knows better. Category:Star Trek: Conflict Episodes